Current Batman writer Chip Zdarsky confirmed that he is leaving the title by issue #157.
This news should come to not a huge surprise. When Jim Lee revealed that he and Jeph Loeb will come back to Batman to do “Hush 2” in issue #158, there was a question mark of what about the current creative team. But now Zdarsky revealed in his creator newsletter that he will be exiting the title after the conclusion of his current story arc.
Zdarsky discussed how his plans to exit happened when former Batman line editor Ben Abernathy left DC Comics. He also revealed how his other comic book projects are taking up a big chunk of his time now.
I love Batman. It’s been a true joy working on the title. But some time in the spring I got the itch in the back of my brain to wrap things up. Partly because Jorge and I were finishing up the giant Failsafe/Zur story, but also because my amazing Bat-editor Ben Abernathy had left for Transforming G.I. Joes at Skybound. I also had a terrifying workload in front of me and had to make some hard decisions about what needed to be prioritized.
When Did Chip Zdarsky Decide to Leave the Title?
Chip Zdarsky made the final decision back in April. Initially he wanted to leave earlier, but DC requested that Zdarsky write one more arc for the DC All-In initiative.
So, just before C2E2 in April, I let DC know that I was leaving. It was a tough call ‘cause I truly love the crew there (especially their EIC Marie Javins, an absolute light in this dumb industry), but they understood. They asked if I’d be willing to stick around for an arc starting in October and I said yes, because I wanted to do something special and contained for [artist Jorge Jimenez]; beautiful, beautiful Jorge.
No word yet if Zdarsky plans to stick around at DC Comics or if he is focusing on his creator-owned projects.
The opening of his final story line Batman #153 is out now. His final issue Batman #157 will hit comic shops in February 2025.
Source: Substack.com
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